Production of lithographic printing plates



June 21, 1960 E. R. GUTZMER paonucnou 0F LITHOGRAPHIC PRINTING PLATES 9Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Aug. 15 1957 Inventor Ernest R. (iutgmer J1 M.cBAM&/W );%MIM

fH-fornegs June 21, 1960 E. R. GUTZMER PRODUCTION OF LITHOGRAPHICPRINTING PLATES Filed Aug. 15, 1957 9 Sheets-Sheet 3 Inventor ErnestR.G1 1t me'r June 21, 1960 E. R. GUTZMER 2,941,499

PRODUCTION OF LITHOGRAPHIC PRINTING PLATES Filed Aug. 15, 1957 9Sheets-Sheet 4 Inventor Ernesf R. Gutgmer.

E5 flfiornegs June 21, 1960 E. R. GUTZMER 2,941,499

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Mon-legs June 21, 1960 E. R. GUTZMER 2,941,499

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PRODUCTION OF LITHOGRAPHIC PRINTING PLATES Filed Aug. 15, 1957 9Sheets-Sheet 8 Inventor Ern st R. Gutgmer :5 fl fi w M MM Mom egsPRODUCTION OF LITHOGRAPHIC PRINTING PLATES This invention relates to theproduction of lithographic printing plates and particularly to thecoating of metal printing plates of this kind.

In the lithographic printing industry, many different kinds of metalprinting plates are employed where the image to be printed istransferred to the lithographic plate by photographic processes, andwith such metal .printing plates, it is necessary that aphotographicallysensitized coating be applied to the surface of theprinting plate. Depending upon the particular kind of printing platethat is being produced, the thickness and drying characteristics of thephoto-sensitive coatingvaries considerably, but in every instance, thequality of the final lithographic printing depends in a large measureupon the quality and uniformity characteristics of the photo-sensitivecoating that has been applied. The photo-sensitive coating is consideredto be of poor quality where it includes bubbles or foreign matter, andif such coating varies unduly from the desired uniform thickness in theworking areas of the plate.

In the past such photo-sensitive coatings have been applied, in mostinstances, on a whirler which usually constitutes a horizontal tablemounted for rotative movement about the vertical axis, and after theplate to be coated has been disposed in a centered relationship on thewhirler table, the coating material has been poured manually onto thecenter of plate while it is rotated with the table. It is customary justprior to the application of the coating material to flush the platesurface with water to insure cleanliness of the surface that is to becoated, and after the coating material has been applied and has leveledoff to a smooth surface so as to fully dry the coating before the plateis removed from the whirler.

In prior whirlers, great difiiculty has been experienced in attainingeven drying of the coated surface, and such whirlers have employedcovers and drying air has been forced through the whirler alongdifferent paths. In an effort to attain more uniform drying, heatingelements have in many instances been placed inside of the whirler, asfor example on the inside surface of the cover, and this has been donein an effort to cause the center portions of the coated surface to dryat the same speed as the edges or corners of this surface. So far as Iam aware, this expedient has not been successful except in thoseinstances where an operator became particularly skilled in applying theheat for accurately determined periods.

In other instances, where the air has been heated before forcing thesame into the whirler cabinet, but even where this expedient has beenused, there has been a marked tendency for the edges or corners of thecoating on a plate to dry ahead of the center portion. In all of theprior whirlers of which I am aware, there has been a marked tendency tocirculate dust and dirt, including dry particles of coating, within thewhirler cabinet so as to produce blemishes in the coated surface.

The prior coating procedures have required considerable time and manuallabor in putting the plates in posi- 2 tiori, applying the flushingwater and the coating, and thereafter removing the coated plate from thewhirler, and because of uneven drying and because the several operationshave been performed manually, there has been a considerable loss due tolack of quality and uniformity in the coated plates.

In view of the foregoing it is the primary object of the presentinvention to enable greater uniformity and high quality of coating to beattained in lithographic printing plates, and objects related to theforegoing are to enable uniform drying of the coating to be attained,and to enable the handling and coating of the lithographic printingplates to be accomplished automatically and in such a manner thatuniformity of coating is attained while assuring that the coating isfree from bubbles and foreign matter.

Another and related object of this invention is to provide an improvedwhirler in which the drying-air is supplied in such a way thatuniformity of drying is attained throughout the plate surface while atthe same time avoiding circulation of dust or dirt that might mar thecoated surface.

Other and more specific objects of the present invention are to simplifythe handling of lithographic printing plates to enable the same to behandled by lifting engagement with the top surface thereof, both beforeand after the coating operation, and to enable this to be done withoutdanger of damage to the coated surface.

Another important object of the present invention is to enable a whirlerto be started and stopped automatically, to perform its coating anddrying functions, and to be thereafter unloaded automatically so thatthere is no need for the plates to be handled individually.

Another object is to provide a whirler wherein the plate is fullycovered and shielded from outside dirt and dust during the entireflushing, coating and drying operation, and a related object is toaccomplish this in such a way that the plate is stopped in apredetermined position or relationship after the drying operation, thusto adapt the whirler for cooperation with an automatic plate handlingand transporting mechanism.

Another important object of this invention is to provide a novel andadvantageous drive arrangement for the whirler table so that the platesmay be positioned loosely thereon and yet will not be displaced on thewhirler table during the starting and stopping of the whirler table.

Another important object of the present invention is to provide a platehandling and transporting unit that is adapted to handle lithographicprinting plates by lifting the same and then transporting the platesindividually to different locations, and a related object is to providefor vacuum lifting of the plates in such a way that the lifting actionis attained by one set of lifting devices prior to the coatingoperation, and by another set of lifting devices after the coatingoperation, thus to assure said character that may be operatedautomatically" through a sequence of plate lifting, transporting anddepositing operations so that the attention of an operator is not neededafter a sequence of automatic handling and related operations has beeninitiated.

Other and further objects of the present invention will be apparent fromthe following description and claims and'are illustrated in theaccompanying drawings which Patented June 21, 1960 changes may be madeas desired by those skilled in the art without departing from thepresent invention.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a plan view showing a plate handling and coating installationembodying the features of the invention.

Fig. 2 is a front elevational view of the installation.

Fig. 3 is a side perspective view of the whirler as viewed from theright in Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a front perspective view of the whirler with the cover open.

Fig. 4A is a schematic plan section showing the rela tionship of the airinlet and air outlets for the drying air.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged plan section of the whirler taken substantiallyalong the line 55 of Fig. 2.

Fig-5A is an enlarged and somewhat schematic view of the control valvearrangement in the end of the coating-applying arm.

Fig. 6 is a front perspective view of the. whirlergenerally similar toFig. 4 and showing a portion of the lifting and transporting unit inposition over the whirler.

" Fig. Tie a perspective view of the lifting and trans-.

porting unit.

. Fig. 8 is a vertical sectional view through a portion of the liftinghead of the unit shown in Fig. 7. l i Fig. 9 is a schematic viewillustrating the power means and certain of the control switches thatare associated with thetwo units. i

Fig. 10 is a schematic wiring diagram illustrating thecontrol circuitfor the lifting and transporting units.i Fig. 11 is a schematic wiringdiagram illustrating the control circuits of the whirler unit andindicating the manner of association thereof with the lifting andtransporting unit. i

Fig. 12 is a schematic wiring diagram showing certain of the circuits ofthe whirler and thefrnaimer in which these circuits are controlledandinterrelated; and

Fig. 13 is a timing chart showing atypical automatic cycle.

THE APPARATUS IN GENERAL For. purposes of disclosure the invention isherein illustrated as embodied'in an automatic plate handling andcoating installation 20 that comprises whirler 21 that has an automaticoperating cycle in which lithographic plates P are flushed, coated anddried, and a plate handling and transporting unit 22 that is coordinatedwith the whirler 21 in its automatic operation so that the platehandling and transporting unit 22 is operable to pick up a lithographicplate P from a supply station I, transport the same to station IV atwhich the whirler 21 is located and deposit the plate P on the whirler,and after completion of an automatic sequence of flushing, coating anddrying operation by the whirler 21, is operable to pick up the coatedplate P and transport the same to station II of the plate handling unit22 where the plate P is deposited on a stack of finished coatedplates.

The plate P that is coated by the present apparatus may be any type oflithographic plate, usually of metal, whether the plate has a grainedsurface or an ungrained surface, and the plate may be made of a singlelayer of metal such as an aluminum or zinc plate, or may comprise two ormore layers of metal as is the case in bi-metal and tri-metal plates.

THE WHIRLER 21 The Cabinet The whirler 21 as shown in Figs. 1 to 6 ofthe drawlngs comprises a cabinet or housing 100 having acylindricalverti'cal side wall 101 supported by a pair of front.

105 preferably has a plurality of upstanding returning pins 105P spacedoutwardly from the location of the edges, of a plate that is in thenormal centered plate location, and these pins areprovided as a safteymeans so that in the event the plate P becomes displaced from itscentered position, it will be held against excessive outward movement onthe table.

The access opening 107 is slightly larger than the size of the largestplate that is to be coated with the whirler 21, and with thisarrangement, it is possible to close the whirler during its operatingcycle through the use of a tiltable cover or lid 108 that is of aminimum size and weight. The lid 108 is rectangular in form and isarranged so that it may rest on an upward flange 107F that is providedabout the access opening 107. The lid 108 is mounted for pivotalmovement about an axis parallel to its major axis by the provision ofsupporting arms 108A that extend upwardly and rearwardly from the rearcor The circulation of the drying air The cover 108 is arranged in thepresent instance to provide a portion of an air supply passage throughwhich drying air may be forced into the housing 100, and for thispurpose, an elongated air discharge opening 108D is provided in thecover 108 so as to extend from one of the rear corners of the cover 108to substantially the central point of the cover. This air dischargeopening 108D is thus located so that air discharged therefrom will movedownwardly so as to strike an area of the plate P between the centralpoint of the plate and one edge of the whirler table 105. The air thatis thus forced intothe whirler cabinet through the discharge opening108D strikes the whirling coated surface of the plate P at aconsiderable velocity and insofar as drying may be concerned,theeffective velocity, or its velocity relative to rotating coatedsurface, varies from the center of the plate to the outside edgethereof. The air at the outside edge may be said to be required to dry agreater area of the plate, and while this would theoretically indicatethe need for a greater air volume at the outer edges of the plate, Ihave discovered that by making the discharge opening 108D ofsubstantially constant width from end to end, the relatively largervolume of air per unit of plate surface near the center acts to causedrying to progress in the central areas at a rate substantially the sameas in the outer areas where the higher efiective air velocity acts todry the larger areas that are to be dried near the outer edges of theplate.

The drying air that is introduced into the cabinet through the openings108D is, under the preesnt invention, circulated within the cabinet insuch a manner that it does not pick up dust and dirt that may be presentwithin the cabinet, and in accomplishing this purpose it may be pointedout that the bottom of the cabinet is closed except for a drain throughwhich water and liquid coating material may pass. The air is dischargedonto the upper surface ofthe plate and the table, and this isaocomplished by providing air outlets about the periphery of the housing100 and just below the top wall 106. Thus the top wall 106 issupportedonaplurality of spaced supports 1068 that extend upwardly from the sidewall 101, and between the supports 106$, air outlet passages 106D areprovided. Thus the air that enters the housing through the opening 108Dstrikes the top of the table or the plate and may move outwardly overthe plate and the table so as to escape from the housing through theopening 106D. Thus, in its entire path of movement through the housing100, the air does not pass with any particular velocity to the bottom ofthe housing where it might tend to pick up dirt or particles of drycoating material and the like.

In practice I have discovered that the total area of the air escapeopenings 106D, and the location thereof in a circumferential directionrelative to the inlet passage 108D has a bearing upon uniformity ofdrying. Considering that the table rotation imparts rotative motion inthe same direction to the air, as indicated by the arrow in Fig. 4A, itmay be pointed out that the best drying action is attained by blockingup a large proportion of openings 106D that are so chosen with respectto the inlet opening 108D, a large proportion of the drying air musttravel almost 360 within the housing before it is discharged. In Fig.4A, a typical arrangement of the discharge openings or outlet openings106D has been diagrammatically illustrated, and those openings 106D thatare blocked or closed are indicated by the letter B in Fig. 4A. In thisarrangement some of the air may pass from the housing at several pointsalong the rotative path, but the major portion discharges after it hastraveled just slightly less than 360. The total area of the effectiveopenings 106D is just slightly less than the area of the opening 108D.With this arrangement of the discharge opening 108D and outlet openings106D, it has been found that circulation of dust has been for allpractical purposes limited, and the coating material dries uniformly onthe plate P so that there are no evidences whatsoever of ridges ordouble coating near the edges or corners of the plates. On the uppersurface of the cover 108, a duct 110 is provided which is arranged todischarge through the discharge opening 108D and which extendsrearwardly to the rear edge of the cover 108 where the rear end of theduct 110 engages the forward end of a main air supply duct 111. Thisengagement or connection of the ducts 110 and 111 is of course brokenWhen the cover 108 is raised to its open position, as will be evidentparticularly in Figs. 3 and 4 of the drawings, and yet when the cover108 is returned to its closed position, the connection of the two ductsis re-established so that drying air may be forced through the ducts andinto the housing 100 as will be described in some detail hereinafter. 1

Operation of the whirler cover The cover 108 is urged to its closedposition by gravity, and is arranged to be opened by means of a cable112 that extends from a connection at the midpoint of the cover 108upwardly and rearwardly and over a pulley 112P that is carried at theupper end of a supporting column 112C. This cable 112 extends downwardlyalong the column and then under the whirler 21 where the cable isconnected to apiston of an air cylinder AC-l08 that is governed andcontrolled as will be hereinafter described to raise and lower the cover108 automatically in the operation of the whirler. Air is supplied tothe cylinder AC-108 under control of a solenoid valve SV-108 of thecombined cu-t-ofi and vent type. This valve is open when it is notenergized, so that the cover 108 is held open, and when the cover isclosed during the coating and drying periods, the valve is energized soas to vent the cylinder AC-108 and allow the cover 108 to close.

The swingable coating and flushing arms Means are provided for applyingflushing water and coating material to the plate P in the operation ofthe whirler 21, and in order to facilitate alternate use of the machinefor applying coating of two different kinds,

such means are duplicated in the whirler, and specific description willbe confined to one of such means. Thus, a pair of coating arms 115 and115-1 are provided as shown particularly in Figs. 1, 4A and 5, and thespecific structure of the arm 115 will be given hereinafter. Thus thearm 115 extends from and is fixed to a vertical shaft 116 that isdisposed Within the housing and closely adjacent to the vertical wall101 thereofso that by rotative movement of the shaft 116, the arm may bemoved between a retracted position adjacent the side wall 101, shown infull lines in Fig. 5, and an operating position wherein the end of thearm 115 is disposed over the center of the table, as shown in dottedlines in Fig, 5. The arm 115 is operated back and forth between thesepositions by means including an air cylinder AC115 that has the pistonrod 117 thereof connected to an amt 116A that is rigidly fixed to thelower end of the shaft 116. Spring means 115S normally urge the arm 115to its outer or retracted position. The operating cylinder AC-115 isactuated to project the arm 115 under control of a solenoid valve SV-115in an air supply line, and this is done automatically as will bedescribed.

The arm 115 has three pipes 115W, 115A and 115C mounted thereon so as toextend from the inside or remote end of the arm beyond the shaft 116 andthrough an access opening provided in the side wall 101 of the housingby eliminating one of the supports 1068 to provide one long opening inthe location that would otherwise constitute two openings 1068. The pipe115C is arranged to supply coating material and has a flexible supplyhose 118C connected thereto which includes a filter 118F, while the line115A constitutes an air line whereby controlling air may be applied to acontrol valve 120 that is carried on the inner end of the am 115, and aflexible supply hose 118A is connected to the extended end of the pipe115A. The pipe 115W serves as a water supply line, and at its outer end,just outside of the housing 100 is connected to a flexible water supplyline 118W.

The valve 120 that is located at the inside end of the arm 115 isarranged to control the flow of coating material through the valve 120,and as shown herein, the valve 120 is of elongated cylindrical form witha casing 121 Within which a piston-like control valve member 122 may bere'ciproacted. The valve member 122 is urged to a normal position by aspring 123, and is arranged to be actuated in a right-hand direction asviewed in Fig. 5A to its alternate or other position by means includingan air cylinder 124, the piston of which acts upon the valve member 122.The air line 115A is connected to one end of the air cylinder 124 sothat when pressure air is supplied through the line 115A, under controlof a solenoid valve SV-1'18A, the valve member 122 will be shiftedagainst the action of the spring 123 to its second position.

The valve casing 121 has an outlet spout or nozzle 125 upon the lowerend of which a cap 125C is threaded so as to hold a strainer or screen1258 removably in position across the outlet spout 125. This screen isof extremely fine mesh, on the order of 70 to 200 mesh per inch, so thatthe screen acts not only to break up and prevent passage of air bubblesthat may be present in the coating material, but also to remove dust,dirt and the like that may be present in either the coating material orthe water that is to pass into the valve 120.

The water supply line 115W is connected to the casing 121 in such aposition that water may flow through the casing and the outlet spout ornozzle 125 when the valve member 122 is in the normal position in whichit is shown in Fig. 5A. The coating supply pipe 115C is connected .tothe casing 121 so that when the valve member 122 is in its other oractuated position, the coating material may flow from the pipe 1150through the outlet 125 and, of course, at the same time the flow ofwater is cut off. It might be noted that the flow of coating material isgoverned only by the valve member 122, but that the water flow isadditionally governed by a solenoid.

valve SV-115W that is includeddin the flexible water The whirler tabledrive The whirler table 105 is mounted and supported on a rotatablevertical shaft 126 and is driven from a motor 127 by means including afriction-type variable speed mechanism 128 that has its output shaftconnected to the shaft 126. The variable speed mechanism 128 is of thefriction-type that is adjustable by means of an adjusting lever 128L sothat it may vary from a zero output speed to a suitable maximum speed.In the operation of the present whirler, the speed of the whirler table105 is varied gradually in starting and stopping so that there is auniform acceleration and deceleration, and this is done so.

that the plate P may rest in a predetermined position on the table 105without clamps or securing devices, thus to enable the plate P to bereadily and easily put in place or removed from the whirler table 105 byautomatic means. The speed varying lever 1281 is operated between itszero position and its maximum position by means including an aircylinder AC-105 that is constantly urged to a zero speed position by airsupplied at a reduced pressure through a line 105C to one end of thecylinder. The lever 128L is controlled as to speed of operation in bothdirections by means of a hydraulic check cylinder HC-105 that isconnected through a common linkage 129 to the air cylinder AC-105 andthe lever 12814. Air is supplied to the forward end of the air cylinderAC-105 through an air line 137B under control of a solenoid valve SV-105of the combined cutofi and vent type.

Whenthe whirler table 105 is stopped it is desirable that the plate Pthat is carried thereby be located in the same rotative position, thusto facilitate automatic handling of the plate and enable the finishedplates P to be stacked in a substantially uniform stack by the automaticentering means 22. In the present instance, since the plates P arerectangular in character, provision is made for stopping the whirlertable 105 in either one of two rotative relationships that are displaced180 from each other. In accomplishing this positioning, the shaft has alocating plate 130 fixed thereon beneath the whirler table 105, and thisplate has a pair of locating notches 130N at diametrically oppositepoints as indicated in Fig. 9. These notches 120N are adapted forcooperation with a locating plunger 131 that has a pointed end that isadapted either to ride on the circular outer edge of the plate 130between the notches or to enter one or the other notches 130N. Thelocating plunger 131 is actuated by an air cylinder AC-131, the plunger131 being formed as a part of the piston of this air cylinder. Theplunger 131 is urged to a retracted position by a spring 1318, and whenthe plunger is to be rendered effective, air is supplied to the rear endof the cylinder AC-131 from a line 137A by operation of a solenoid valveSV-131. Thus, in the stopping or deceleration of the table 105 that isaccomplished by the variable speed mechanism 128, the air cylinderACE-131 is operated to urge the plunger 131 toward the disc 130 when therotative speed of the table 105 has been reduced substantially to zero.The solenoid valve SV-131 is operated at the proper time under controlof a switch 8-128 that is engaged and operated by the speed controllever 128L as this lever reaches its zero speed setting. The plunger 131then moves radially into engagement with the edge surface of the disc130, and when one of the notches 130W moves into alignment with theplunger 131, the plunger is actuated into the notch so as to stop thetable 105 and locate the same in one of the two positions determined bythe notch 130W. The table is thus stopped with a predetermineddiameterthereof parallel to the major axis of the opening 1 07, and the plate Pmay beremoved easily by ver tical lifting thereof. As the plunger. 131moves into one of the notches, an abutment on the plunger engages-andactuates a switch 5-131 which serves as a controlling means forinitiating further automatic. operation of the system as will bedescribed.

The coating supply means Thev coating solution may be either aphoto-sensitive: solution or a simple gum solution for protecting thesurface of the plate, and the two arms 115 and 115-1 maybe, allocated totwo different coating materials that are to. be used selectively. Forpurposes of disclosure it may be considered that a photo-sensitivecoating mate-. rial isrfed froma, supply container 135 that ispreferably supported in an elevated position and which is connect-' edto the flexible coating supply line 118C of the arm. 115,. The coatingis fed under-pressure from the supp ply container 135 and this isaccomplished by closing the top of the container and supplying airthereto from a pressure air source 136 through the lines-137 and 138"and a pressure regulator 139. By adjustment of the pressure regulator,the feeding pressure may be adjusted as desired and this feedingpressure coupled with control of the feeding time within fairly accuratelimits serves to determine the quantity of coating material that isfedronto each of the plates P that is to be coated' Supply of drying airThe drying air that is supplied to the housing through the ducts and 111is furnished, by a blower 140, and the air supply passes through arather elaborate duct work 14 1 which as diagrammatically indicated in,Fig. 9 of the drawings, includes a filter 142,'a heater, 143 and ahumidifier 144 so that eliicient and uniform drying operations will beattained, and lllllIOClllOilOIlaOf the dust or the likev onto thecoating surface of the plate. P will be avoided.

The operation of the whirler 21 is controlled automatically by a whirlertimer, the operation of which is initiated under control of the liftingand supporting unit 22 as will be described, and when the cycle ofoperations. of the whirler has been completed, the completion of theopening movement of the cover 10.8 causes one ofthe arms 10811 to engageand close a controlswi-tch' 8-108 that is mounted on the related one ofthe leg ex-v tensions E, and this closure of the switch 8-108 iseffective to again initiate operation of the lifting and sup.- portingunit 22 so that the coated plate P is lifted from. the whirler table 105and is transported to station II where it is lowered and deposited upona pile of finished coated plates.

THE LIFTING AND TRANSPORTING UNIT 22 In general The lifting andsupporting unit 22 comprises a square cabinet-like base 400 from thecenter of which a rotatively mounted column 401 projects upwardly, and arigid frame 402 projects outwardly from the column 401 to support anouter mounting member 403 in a vertical position wherein it is parallelto the column 401. In the present instance, the frame 402 is formed by apair of parallelarms 402U and 402L. Onthe outer face of; the framemember 403 an air cylinder 405 is mountedin a vertical position with itspiston rod 405R extending downwardly therefrom and carrying ahorizontally positioned lifting head 408 at its lower end. The lifting"head 408,comprises a horizontal wall WSW witha downwardly projectingouter flange 408F, and beneath the wal1 408W two sets of suction cups410W and 410D are mounted so that these sets of suction cups may be usedselectively to engage and lift plates P will be' described: Y F

The suction cups and selection thereof The set of suction cups 410W ismounted in a fixed position, and all of the cups 410W of the set arecon-' nected together by pipes 411 to which a vacuum source is connectedas will be described. The cups are relatively large, and are disposed ina rectangular pattern about 12 to 16 inches apart so that in lifting aplate P, the lifting forces applied by each cup are relatively small.

The suction cups 410D are mounted on the lower ends of the piston rods412 that extend into the piston and cylinder devices 412C that aremounted above the wall 408W, and a spring 4128 in each cylinder servesto urge the related cup 410D to an upper or retracted position shown inFig. 8. The several suction cups 410D may be connected to a vacuumsource by a pipe 413 and this connection is controlled as will bedescribed. When it is desired to lower the suction cups 410D to aneffective position shown in dotted outline in Fig; 8, air is supplied toan upper cylinder 412C through an air line 413A.

As above pointed out, the sets of vacuum cups 410D and 410W are adaptedfor selective use, and the cups 410D are raised and lowered undercontrol of an air valve 415 while the sets of cups are thereforeselectively associated with a vacuum source through a control valve 416.This control valve 416 has a medially located air inlet 413A extendedfrom the pressure air source, and a slidable valve member 415M isslidable between two positions to connect the inlet selectively with avent 415V or with the air cylinder 412C. Solenoids 415W and 415D atopposite ends of the casing may be energized selectively to shift thevalve member 415M to one or the other of such positions.

The vacuum valve 416 has a medial inlet pipe 420 extended to the vacuumpump, and a valve member 416V is slidable between two positions toconnect the line 420 selectively with the wet cups through line 411 orthe dry cups through the line 413. Solenoids 416D and 416W at oppositeends of the valve may be selectively energized to shift the valve member416M between such positions. The valves 415 and 416 and the severalpiston and cylinder devices 412C are connected by a cover member 408C.During operation of the unit 22 the vacuum line 420 is continuouslyconnected to the vacuum source 419. When a plate P is to be dropped orreleased from the suction cups, this is accomplished by feeding pressureair from a line 421 into the vacuum line 120, The air for this purposeis controlled by a normally closed solenoid valve SV-421 of the simplecutoff type that is located in the air line 421. In the vacuum line 420,between the valves 416 and SV-421 a vacuum sensing switch S-420 islocated and this switch functions in the automatic control of the unit22 as will be described.

Actuation of the lifting head 408 The lifting head 408, being supportedon the piston rod 405R may in some instances tend to rotate about theaxis of the cylinder 405, and in the present instance, this is preventedby a pair of guide rods 422 that extend upwardly from the head 408 onopposite sides of the two arms 402U and 402L. These rods 422 arerelatively light and have bracing members 422B connected thereto. Theguide rods 422 serve to keep the longitudinal axis of the lifting head408 in the plane of the frame 402.

The head 408 tends normally to move downwardly under the action ofgravity, and when the head is to be moved upwardly, air is supplied tothe lower end of the cylinder 405 through an air line 425'.

When the head 408 reaches its upper position, a block 422B on one of therods 421 contacts a control switch 8-405 mounted on the arm 402U so asto close the switch, and this switch is utilized in the automaticcontrol of the machine as will be described.

The air line 425 is connected through a stub line 425$ to the pressureair source 136, and a solenoid valve SV-425 of the combined-shut-oflrand vent type is included in the stub line 4258. Between the cylinder405 and the vacuum SV-425, the line 425 has a pressure sensing switch8-425 that is arranged to be normally open, and this switch is closedwhen the pressure in the cylinder 405 is reduced substantially to zero.This condition occurs when the lowering of the head 408 has beencompleted so that the effective suction cup rests upon a stack of platesP. The closure of the pressure sensing switch 8-425 is utilized forautomatic operation of the machine to cause release of a plate P in adropping operation, the initiation of the upward or lifting movement ofthe head 408, or to cause lifting of the head 408 after a plate P hasbeen effectually engaged by the vacuum cups in a lifting operation aswill be described.

Rotative actuation of the column 401 The column 401 as hereinabovedescribed, is arranged for rotative movement, but in the presentinstance, such rotation is limited to some extent by a supporting orstiffening frame 430 that extends upwardly from the base 400 and thenoutwardly at 430A to provide a bearing for the upper end of the column40. The location of the frame 430 is best shown in Fig. 1 of thedrawings and this location is such that lifting head 408 may be movedfrom the loading station I in a clockwise direction to stations 11, IIIand finally into station IV where the frame 402 is located on theopposite side of the supporting or stiffening frame 430. It will beobserved that in moving into station IV, where the whirler 21 islocated, the lifting head moves in a clockwise direction, and this istaken into account in the positioning of the whirler 21 so that thelifting head 408 moves toward the open cover 108 and over the accessopening 107, as will be evident in Fig. 6 of the drawings.

The rotative movements are applied to the column 401 by a reversibleelectric motor 432 which operates through a reduction-gear unit 433 todrive the vertically extended output shaft 434. On this output shaft asmall sprocket 435 is mounted and is connected by means of a chain 436to a relatively large sprocket 437 that is loosely mounted on the column401 within the base 400. The sprocket 437 constitutes the drivingelement of a friction clutch, the other or driven element being in theform of a friction disc 438 that is splined on the column 401 and whichis pressed downwardly by a spring 439 into frictional contact with thesprocket 437'. This provides a factor of safety in the operation of themachine so that in the event of a collision of the lifting head 408 withother apparatus, the frictional drive will slip.

As the column 401- is rotated, means are effective to sense the rotativeposition of the column so as to indicate the position of the liftinghead 408. Thus the column 401 has .a radial switch operating arm 440fixed thereon within the base 400, this arm being located in the planeof the supporting frame 402, and the arm 440 is arranged to actuateswitches 8-1, 8-11, S-III and S-IV as the lifting head 408 is moved intothe correspondingly identified positions or stations. Theseposition-indicating switches are utilized as will hereinafter bedescribed to control certain aspects of the automatic operation of themachine.

When the column 401 has been rotated to any selected position, it isaccurately located and locked in this position by means of a lockingplunger 445 that is operated by an air cylinder 445C so that the lockingplunger may engage with any one of four equally spaced locking notches445N that are formed in a locking disc 445D that is fixed on the columnwithin the base 400.

a The plunger 445 is urged toward a released position by a spring 4458,and when the plunger 445 is to be locked, air is supplied to the outerend of the cylinder 445through an air line 446 that is extended from thesupply line 137'. A solenoid-valve 'SV-445 is included in the line 446and this valve is or the combined cutofi and vent type. Between thevalve SV-445 and the cylinder' 4456, a pressure sensing switch 8-445 isconnected with the line 446 so that the sensed presence or absence ofpressure in the cylinder 4450 may function in the automatic control ofthe unit 22 as will be described.

OPERATION AND CONTROL In the operation and control of the presentinstallation, several timers are employed. The first of these timers maybe termed a cycle timer that is of the motor operated type driven by amotor 500M and having a plurality of cam operated switches CS-l to 03-33inclusive. These switches are of the double throw type, and in thepresent instance, the connections are made in most cases between thecommon terminal and the normally closed contacts of the respectiveswitches, the switches being heldopen by the related-cams, and beingallowed to close at appropriate times in the cycle of operation of thetimer 500.

The second timer is a coating solution timer 501 that is driven by amotor 501M and is utilized to govern the length ofthe period duringwhich the coating material is fed from the arm 115 onto the plate thatis being coated. A similar timer 501G is also provided and is system andwith the position-indicating switches 8-1 to S-IVin initiating rotativemovement of the lifting and transporting device as required to anyselected one of the several stations thereof, and in determining theproper direction of rotation of the column 401. This selection andvcontrol involves the use of a 2-way motor starting relay 510- that hasone coil 510L which when energized, closes circuit to the motor 432 insuch amanner as to cause left-hand or counterclockwise rotation ofthecolumn 401,- while an operating coil 510R may be energized to causerotation of the column 401 in a righthand or clockwise direction. Thepower source comprises lines L1, L2 and L3,- and the output to the motor432 is extended from the starting relay through the wires T1, T2 and T3in a conventional manner. The relay also includes sets of interlockingcontacts 511L and 511R that are efiective, as will be described, toprevent simultaneous operation of the two operating coils of thestarter.

Selection of directionof column-rotation The direction selecting meanscomprises a plurality of relays that are energized in accordance withthe station to which the head 408 is to be moved, and this energizationis controlled in part by the position-indicating switches S 1 to S IV,and in part by either the automatic selecting action of the timer 500 orby manually operable means.

Due to the nature of the lifting and transporting unit 22, it: will beclear that when the head 408 is to be moved into station I from anyother station, this will always require left-hand rotation, and in thesame way, when the headis to be moved into station IY from-any otherstation,-this must always be accomplished by right-hand rotation-otthecolumn 401. As to selection of stations II and III, however, as thedestination for the head 408, it is possible, depending upon theprevious location of the head, that the movement required may be eitherin the righthand or a left-handdirection. The relay system is effectiveto automatically determine the required direction offrotation undersuchcircumstances.

, Thusa relayiL-L is provided for use'in the selection of station I,and'a single relay IV-R is provided for use in selection of station IVas a destination. In contrast to this, two relays II-R and II-L areprovided for use in selecting station II, and two relays III- -R andIII-L are provided for use in selecting station III as a destination.Finally, a relay II-RL and a relay III-RL are provided for use inconnection with the selection of stations II and III respectively.

The relay I-L has a set of normally open holding con-' tacts I-L-l and aset of normally open control contacts I-L-Z. The relays II-R, II-L,III-L and IV-R also have similar sets of holding and control contactsthat are similarly identified with a prefix identifying the respectiverelays and a suflix identifying the corresponding contacts.

In the relay II-RL, three sets of normally open contacts II-L-l, IIRL-2and IIRL-3 are provided, and three similar sets of normally opencontacts are provided in the relay III-RL.

In providing the energizing circuits for the above as: scribed relaysand the operating coils of the starter 510,- circuit is extended fromline Wire L-2 by a wire 601 having branches extended to one terminal ofthe operating coils of all of such relays and the starter 510.

The other terminal of the starter coil 510R is connected through theinterlock contacts 511L to a wire 650R and when the relay coil 510R isto be energized, circuit is ex tended from line wire L-1 to the wire650R through the No. 2 or control contacts of one of the relays II-R,III-R or IV-R, as will be described in some detail hereinafter.Similarly, the other terminal of the operating coil 510L is connectedthrough the interlock contacts 511R to a wire 650L and when the coil510L is to be energized, circuit is extended from line wire L-1 to thewire 650L to the No. 2 or control contacts of one of the relays I-L,II-L and III-L.

The relays II-RL and III-RL are utilized in determining whether theright-hand or left-hand relay relating to station 11 or station III isto be actuated, and this determination is made by circuits that areextended through the relay conacts of these relays from theposition-indicating switches 8-1 to S-4.

The operation in respect to relays LL and IV-R will however be firstdescribed. Initially, such operation will be considered as beinginitiated by manual selection rather than by automatic selection, therebeing four push button switches PB-l to PB-4 allocated respectively tostations I to IV. In considering any particular stationselectionproblem, the present position of the head 408' must be taken intoaccount, and as a first example it willbe assumed that the head is atrest in station II, and that it is desired to have the head move in aleft-hand" or counterclockwise direction to station I. When this is tobe done, the push button switch PB-1 is actuated and this results in theenergization of relay I-L. Keeping in mind that one terminal of theoperating coil of this relay is connected to the line L-2, the closureof switch PB-1 extends circuit from a wire 615 that is connected to linewire L-l to a wire 610 that is extended to the other terminal oftbe'operating coil of this relay. The operation of the relay of coursecloses the control contacts I-L-2 so that circuit is extended from awire 652 that leads from line wire L-1, through a branch lead 6524 andthe control contacts to the wire 650L.

The coil 510L of the starter is thus energized to cause rotation of thecolumn 401 in a left-hand direction, and such movement continues so longas the holding contacts I-L-1 are kept closed. Thus, one of the holdingcontacts is connected by a branch lead to the wire 610, and the other ofthesecontrol contacts is connected by a wire 603 tothe normally opencontact of the position indicating switch-S1.- This switch is of thedouble-throw type with its columncontact connected to the wire 15.

When the relay 1L is energized as above described;

the starter coil 510L will be energized so as to extend circuit to themotor 432 to rotate the column 401 in a lefthand or counterclockwisedirection, and as an incident to connect to the motor circuit, thesolenoid valve SV-445 is energized to release the V-lock. The energizingcircuit for the valve SV-445 is provided by extending the Wire T-3 toone terminal of the valve solenoid and by connecting the other terminalof the solenoid to the line wire L-2 by a wire 653. The rotation of thecolumn 401 continues until the head 408 reaches station I, and at thattime the switch 8-1 is actuated by the arm 440 to break the runningcircuit that has been extended by the wire 603 through the holdingcontacts of the relay 1-1. The relay I-L then drops out so that themotor 432 isdeenergized, and this de-energizes the solenoid valve SV-445 so that the V-lock returns to its effective position and accuratelylocates the head 408 in station I.

The selection of station IV is accompanied in generally similar mannerby actuating the push-button switch PB-4 which extends circuit to theother terminal of the relay IV-R in the following manner:

I In establishing this circuit, the switch S-4 is utilized, and sincethe head 408 is in position I in the assumed example, circuit isextended from the wire 615 through the normally closed contact of theswitch S-4 and a wire 609 to one contact of the switch PB-4. From theother contact of this switch a wire 614 is extended to the normally opencontact of the switch S-108 which serves as a safety switch which isclosed only when the whirler lid 108 is fully open. If the whirler lidis in effect open so that the switch 8-108 is closed, circuit isextended by wire 614B to the other end or terminal of the coil of therelay IV-R, thus to energize this relay. When the relay is energized,circuit is extended from line I through the control contacts IV-R-2 ofthis relay to the wire 650R, thus to cause operation of the motor 432 todrive the column 401 in a right-hand or clockwise direction. The relayIV-R is held in its actuated condition by a holding circuit that extendsfrom the Wire 6143 through the holding contacts IV-1 and a wire 609 tothe normally closedcontact of the switch S-4. Hence, when the head 408has moved into station IV, the arm 440 actuates the switch S-4 so as tobreak the holding circuits which causes the head 408 to be stopped andlocated in station IV.

As to the selection of stations II and III, the selection circuits aresomewhat diiferent and will be described particularly with respect tothe selection of station II. Thus, assuming that the head 408 is instation IV, the selection of station His accomplished by actuation ofthe push-button switch PB-2. When this is done, circuit is extended fromthe wire 615 to a Wire 6111 which is extended to the other terminal ofthe operation coil of the relay II-RL so that this relay is energized,and it is through the contacts of the relay I-I-RL and the cooperatingcontacts of the switch 8-1 to 8-4 that a further selection isautomatically made which determines whether the relay lI-R or II-L is tobe energized. Thus the energizing circuit for the relay II-R is extendedby a wire 655 toone of the contacts II-RL-l, and from the other of thesecontacts a wire 602 is extended to the normally open contact of theswitch S-l. Similarly, a wire 656 extends from the other terminal of theoperating coil of the relay II-RL to one of the contacts II-RL-2 andalso to one of the contacts II-RL-3. The other contact II- RL-2 isconnected by a wire 606 to the normally open contact of the switch S-3,while the other of the contacts II-RL-3 is connected by a wire 608 tothe normally open contact of the switch S-l.

Similarly, connections are provided to the relay contacts of the relayIII-RL. Thus the relay II-RL has the other end of its operating coilconnected by a wire 612 to one of the contacts of the push-button switchPB-3. The other terminal of the operating coil of the relay II-R 14 isconnected by a wire 657 to one of the contacts HI- RL-1 and also to oneof the contacts II-RL-3. 'Ihe other contact II-RL-3 is connected by awire 602B to the wire 602, while the other contact III-RL-Z is connectedby a wire 604 to the normally open contact of the switch S-2. The otherterminal of the energizing coil of the relay III-L is connected by awire III-7 to one of the contacts III-RL-3, the other of these contactsbeing connected by a wire 608B to the wire 608. The connections thathave thus been described constitute the selecting contacts that arenecessary to determine the right-hand and left-hand characteristics ofthe movement to be imparted to the column 401, and additional circuitsare provided from the relay II-R, II-L, III-R and III-L for energizingthe operating coils of the starter 510 selectively, and further circuitsare provided for holding the operated relays until the selected stationhas been reached.

Thus the control contacts of the relays II-R and III-R are connected bythe line 652 and the wire 650R so that when one or the other of thesetwo relays is energized, the operating coil 510R of the starter will beenergized. Similarly, the control contacts of the release II-L and III-Lare connected by the wire 652 and the wire 650L to energize the startercoil 510R when these two relays are energized. The running circuit forthese two relays is provided as follows:

The relay II-R has one of its contacts II-R-l connected to the wire 655,while the contacts II-L-l are connected to the wire 656, and the othercontacts of these two pairs are connected by a wire 658 and from thewire 658 a wire 605 is extended to the normally closed contact of theswitch S-2. One of the contacts III-R-l is connected to the wire 657while one of the contacts III-L-l is connected to the wire 657A, theother two contacts of these sets are connected together by a wire 659. Awire 607 extends from the wire 659 to a normally closed contact of theswitch 8-3. It might be pointed out that the common contacts of all ofthe switches S-1 to 8-3 are connected to line wire L-l by wires 615.

With the relays connected as above described, actuation of the switchPB-3 While the head 408 is located in station III, causes the desiredleft-hand movement of the head 408 in the following manner:

The circuit is extended through the switch PB-3 from the wire 615 to thewire 612 which of course causes operation of the relay III-RL, and suchoperation of this relay serves to select and cause energization of therelay III-L. Thus it will be observed that of the three sets of contactsof the relay III-L, the contacts III-RL-3 are the only ones' that areconnected back to line 615. Thus, this set of contacts is connected bywires 608B and 608 to the normally open contact of the switch 8-4, butsince head 408 is at this time in station IV, a switch 8-4 will beoperated so that circuit will be extended to the lines 615. As to theother two sets of contacts in the relay III-RL, the contacts III-RL-lare connected through the wire 602 to the normally open contact of theswitch S-1 which of course will be open at this time, while the contactsIII-RL-2 are connected through the wire 605 to the normally open contactof the switch S-2 which is also in its open relation. Hence it will beclear that of the three possible circuits through the contacts of therelays III-RL, the position-indicating switches of the unit 22 determinethat circuit-s shall be extended only to the relay III-L. When the relayIII-L is energized circuit is extended to the starter coil 510L so thatleft-hand rotation of the column 401 will move the head forward fromstation IV to station III where the relay III-L will be caused to dropout due to the opening of the normally closed contact of the switch 8-3.

A similar selection and operation takes place when the push-button PB-2is pushed so that the column 401 will be rotated in the proper directionto move the head from the position which it is then located to stationII.

Vertical riiovements of the head 408' Additional control switches areprovided, and one of these is an oiT-on control switch 8-660 that may beused to connect the line L- 2 to the terminal board 661 of the relaypanel where a series of connected terminals 661T are energized from theline L-Z when the switch 8-660 is closed. 7 p

g In addition, a push-button switch PB-6 is providedfor manuallyinitiating thepickup operation of the head 408, and a push-button switchPB-5 is provided for initiating operation of the drop cycle of the head.

In carrying out the pickup and drop cycles several relays, are includedin the relay box. Thus a relay D-5 and D-6 are provided for functioningin the drop cycle of the machine, while a pickup control relay P-7 isprovided for functioning in the pickup cycle; In addition, relays areprovided for governing the shifting of the cups 416D and for governingthe supply of vacuum to the two-sets of cups. Thus a relay DC-8functionsjwhen the; dry cups 41033 are to operate, while a relay WG-9functions when. the cups 410W are to operate, and the operation of therelays DC-8 and WG-9 is interrelated with the rotative position of thehead 408 as to insure the use of the proper cups according to themethodof. use to: which the lifting and supporting device is to-beput.All of these' relays embody control contacts as will be described.

Pick-up operation of head 408 Thus, when a pick-up operation of the head408' is to be initiated the manual pickup sWiteh PB-6 may be actuatedand this closes an energizing circuit for the relay P-7. This energizingcircuit is extended' from a' terminal A by a wire 663 to one end of thecoils of the relay P-7 and a wire 664 extends from the other end" ofthis coil to a terminal T-20. Closure of the switch PB-6 has extendedcircuit to a terminal 21 so that circuit is further extended by a wire665 to the normally closed contact of the vacuum sensing switchS420,'the common contact of which is connected by a wire 666 to' aterminal T-1 which is connected to line wire 1 -2. This serves toenergize the pickup relay P-7, and when this is done a holding circuitis closed through a normally open contact P-7-1 of this relay to theterminal T41. Thus ther'elay P-'7 will be held in its energized positionuntil the establishment of a vacuum at the eifective cups has closed'theswitch 8-420 to be operated, and when this takes place the holdingcircuit will be broken and the relay P-7 will be energized.

I The relay P-7 also provides a control'circuit whichlis effective torelease the air pressure in the lifting cylinder 405. Thus this controlcircuit is provided by normally open contacts P71, one of which isconnected to the wire 663 and the other of which is connected toa wire668 that extends to a terminal T-22. From the terminal T-22' a wire 69extends to one terminal of the solenoid valve SV425, the otherterminallof which is connected by a wire 670 to the normally opencontact valve, the pressure sensing switch 8-445 which is associatedwith the air lock device. The common terminal of the switch 8-445 isconnected by a wire 671 to the wire 666; thus to extend circuit to theline wire' L2. circuit will thus be closed only when the locking pistonis effective, and because the lifting piston 405; is being vented, thehead 403 will move gradually downwardly at a speed depending upon thesize of the vent that has been opened. The downward movement of thehead. 408 will continue until the head comes to rest, and this normallyoccurs when effective suction cups come into contact with a plate P thatis to be lifted. The vacuum pump is the r; efiective to build-up avacuum at the. effective. cups, and when this vacuum has reached apredetermined amount, the switch 5-420 is operated so as to break theholding circuit of the relay Pe7. The valve SV 425 is thereforede-energized and again supplied to the lifting cylinass-sass iii dei-405 $5 that the head 40s win return to its upper ast 5 tion, and thedesired rotative movement of the cplumn 401 may then be initiated asdescribed hereinbefore.

Dropping cycle of the head 408 When the head 408 is to be moved througha dropping cycle, this may be initiated by actuation of the drop switchPB5' which is connected across terminals T-18 and T-19 of the panel.This establishes anenergizing circuit for the drop relays D-5 and D-6.Thus wires 673; and 673A are extended from the terminal T-ISA to-one endof each of the coils of the relays D-5 and D -6.l The other ends ofthese coils are connected by a wire 674 to the terminal T-17. Closure ofthe switch PB-S has; of course, connected these two terminals andcircuit extended from the terminal T-18 through a wire 675 to thenormally open contact of the vacuum sensing which at this time would beclosed due to the pressure of a plate across the vacuum cups. Circuitwould thusbe extended by the wire 666 to the line wire L52 sothat bothof the relays D-5 and D- -6 would be energized. When the relays D-5 andD-6 are energized a holding circuit is provided by relay contacts D-S-L,one of these contacts being connected to the wire 674 and the other ofthese contacts being connected by a wire 677 to the terminal T 18. Thisholding circuit will thus" maintain the relays D-5 and D-6 energizeduntil such time as the vacuum at the cups has been released so as tocause thesensing switch S 420 to return to its normal condition whichserves to break the holding circuit of the relays D5 and D-6. A

The relay D-5, when energized, serves to govern the lift cylinder 4%through relay contacts D5'2',' one of p which is connected to the wire673 and the other of which is connected by a wire 668A to the wire 668.This cir cuit extends through the solenoid valve SV-425 and the sensingswitch S445 so that it the column 401 is locked. the air from thecylinder 405 will be vented so as to lower the head 408.

is connected by a wire 677 to the terminalT-2.3.' A wire 6'78 extendsfrom the terminal T 23 to the normally" closed contact of the airpressure sensing switch 8-425; the common contact of which is connectedby a wire 679 to the wire 666 so as to extend the circuit bacli toextended through a wire 598 that is .conriectedftoj the.

line L-Z. v

The circuit that has just been described is not closed immediately butis merely conditioned through thepressure sensing switch S4Z5, and whenthe 'air' pressure in the lift cylinder 4&5 reaches zero, the switch is"closed so that the air cylinder 421 is actuated, thereby to feedpressure air into the vacuum line for releasing the'vacuum' and droppingthe plate P from the vacuum cups This circuit is maintained for apredetermined time through operation of a timer 505 that has arelatively short time. period on the order of six seconds during;

which the energizing circuit to. the air control solenoid SV-42l ismaintained even though the relay D6 becomes de-energized. Thus the timer505 has wires 506. and 597 extended therefrom to the terminal T- IS and.the terminal T-l respectively, thus to be connected to the two linewires, and the wire 506 is connected; di-. rectly to the timer motor.This establishes a wnnecaen; to line wire L-l, and the timer 505 isstartedbyl a circuit t rminal T49. The terminal T-19, of course, isinitially 17 connected to the line wire L-2, and after the motor isstarted a switch 505$ thereof is closed for the predetermined timerperiod to connect the wire 507 to the other side of the motor circuit.Thus, the insertion of the pressure air to the vacuum system iscontinued for the time period to insure dropping of the plate P.

Selection of suction cups 410W r 410D It has been pointed outhereinbefore that the dry.

suction cups 410D and the wet suction cups 410W are used selectively toinsure that proper selection of cups is attained, and to insure properconnection of the vacuum line to the selected cups, and to do this thevalves 415 and 416 must be actuated. This is done under control of therelays DC-ti and WC-9 in cooperation with the rotative position of thecolumn 481 as such rotative position is indicated by the switches 8-1 to8-4.

In accomplishing this the relays DC-S and WC-9 are both operated eachtime the pick-up relay P-7 is operated. Thus the wire 664 has a branch664A that is connected to one end of each of the coils of the relaysDC-8 and WG-9, while the other terminals of these relay coils areconnected by a wire 680 to the terminal T-15A. The common relay contactof the relay DC-8 is connected by a wire 681 to terminal T-25, while thecommon contact of the relay WG-9 is connected by a wire 682 to theterminal T-24. The normally open contact of the relay DC-S is connectedby a wire 683 to the wire 608 which extends to the normally open contactof the switch S-4 so that this side of the control circuit of the relayWG-9 can be completed only when the head 408 is at station I. It is atsuch a time that the use of the wet cups is to be desired.

As to the other side of the control circuit of these two relays, a wire685 extends from the terminal T-25 and is branched for connection to oneterminal of each of the solenoids 415D and 416D, the other terminals ofwhich are connected by wires 686 to line wire L-2. Similarly, the othercontact of the control circuit of the relay WG-9 has its circuitextended from the terminal T-24 by a wire 687 to one terminal of each ofthe solenoid 415W and 416W, the other terminals of which are connectedby wires 683 to line wire L-2. Hence when a pickup operation isinitiated in station I, the wet cups 410W are rendered effective, whilesuch a pickup in station IV causes the dry cups 410D to be renderedeffective Cycle timer relay R-1O The relay panel also includes a cycletimer relay R-lli that accomplishes two functions, one of which isconcerned with the manual operation or selection and the other of whichis concerned with the automatic operation of the machine. The relayR-lii has its operating coil connected across the Wires T-1 and T-2 thatenergize the motor 432 so that the relay R-lt) is energized wheneverthis motor is operated. The relay R-10 has a pair' of normally closedcontacts, one of which is connected by a wire 69% to the terminal 661Tso that it represents line wire L-2. The other of these contacts isconnected by a wire 691 to the terminal T-26. As will be describedhereinafter, this terminal 26 has its circuit extended to form a part ofthe running circuit of the operating motor 500M of the timer 500.

The relay R-IO also has a pair of contacts, one of which is connected bya wire 692 to line wire L-i, and the other one of these contacts whichis the normally closed contact is connected by a wire 693 to theterminal T-ll5A.- This establishes a normal connection from the linewire L-l to the terminal T-A, but this connection is broken when themotor 432 is being operated and by breaking the circuit to terminalT-lSA, all of the manual control circuits that originate at thisterminal are disabled when the column 401 is being rotated. Thus themanual drop circuit and the pickup circuits are disabled undersuchcircumstances.

18 AUTOMATIC OPERATION As hereinabove pointed out, the cycle timer 500serves as the primary control during operation of the entire system, andin association with the timer 5%, a terminal board 7% is provided havingterminals Hi1 to 728 so arranged that opposed terminals are connected.The timer motor 500M is operated in such a way that after it has beenmanually started, it has a running circuit that may be interrupted tostop the timer while certain of the automatic operations are beingperformed, and whereby this circuit may finally be broken at the end ofthe complete cycle of operation of the timer 5%.

Thus, the terminal 701 represents line L-1, and is connected by a wire730 to the common contact of the cam switch CS-28 of the timer, and fromthe normally closed contact of th-is switch a wire 731 extends to aterminal T-731. This circuit to line Wire L-l is utilized in running thetimer 500 through an idle or run-out period during the drying cycle aswill be described. It is from this terminal T-731 that one side of thecircuit to the motor 500M is extended and this terminal is connected toline wire L-l by a wire 731B through the normally closed contacts of adisabling relay 502R.

The starter circuit for the motor 500M is provided by means including arelay 732 the operating coil of which has one terminal extended to aterminal T-732 from which a wire 733 extends to the terminal 702 whichrepresents line wire L-Z. A terminal T-724 is connected by a wire 734 tothe other terminal of the operating coil of the relay 732, and a wire735 extends from the terminal T-724 to the terminal 724. A wire 736includinga manual starter switch 737 is extended to the terminal 701 sothat by the closing starter switch 737, the relay 732 may be operated.

The relay 732 is energized through the manual start switch 737, and whenthe relay is thus energized it closes normally open sets of contacts732-1 and 732-2. The contacts 732-1 constitute the holding contacts ofthis relay and are connected respectively to the wire 734 and to thenormally open contact of the cam switch CS-33. Thus when the timer is inits stopped relation at the end of its cycle, the normally open contactof the switch CS-33 is closed and the common contact is connected by awire 740 to the terminal T-731 so that the holding circuit isestablished u'pon operation of the relay. The wire 740 is also connectedby a wire 741 to one of the normally open contacts 732-2 whichconstitute temporary running contacts functioning in one side of themotor circuit until the cam switch CS-33 assumes control. The other oneof these running contacts is connected by wire 742 to one terminal ofthe motor 500M, while another wire 743 connects this contact to thenormally closed contact of the cam switch CS-33. Thus when the relay 732is operated, a holding circuit is established, and circuit isestablished from the line wire L-l through the temporary runningcontacts of this relay to one terminal of the motor. Also, there is aholding circuit which is initially established through the normally opencontact of the cam switch 08-33 which is then closed, but which isopened at the same time that the other or normally closed contact ofswitchCS-33 is closed, so as to thereafter provide a running circuitthrough the wires 742 and 743, and which is continued throughout thecycle. Opening of this circuit by the cam switch 05-33 terminates thetimer operation at the end of its cycle. At the time that the runningcircuit is established by the cam switch 05-33, the holding circuit forthe relay 732 is broken so that this relay drops 19 wire 7 45 in acircuit that is closed during. operation of the timer 502..

In connection with such control of the cycle timer 500 by the dryingtimer 502 it should be pointed out that during the drying cycle, thecycle timer 500 is actually operated through an idle period which servesto run out a portion of the available time cycle of the cycle timer 500,thus, to enable the last operation of the mechanism to be initiated nearthe end 01": the complete cycle of the timer 550. Thus it is possible toreduce the running time of the timer Silt? after initiation of the finaloperation of cycle. Such idle running of the timer is accomplished by acam switch (IS-28 which as above pointed out, is connected to thelinewire and when closed, serves to extend circuit to the terminal T-731.Such circuit thusv providesa shunt around the disabling relaydiiZR. Thecam switch CBS-28 is arranged to be closed soon after the initiation ofthe drying cycle and to be maintained closed for a. time period suchthat the remaining available timing operation of the timer- 500' is justslightly more thz'nr-v sufiicient to govern the automatic operationsthat are to take place after the conclusion of the drying cycle. Thisidle operation of the cycle timer 503' has been indicated in the timingdiagram of Fig. 13.

The other side of the motor circuit of the motor 560M is extended toline wireL-Z and includes further disabling means so that motor 550M isstopped in. response to rotative movement of the, column 401 and also inresponse to downward displacement of the head 403. Thus, the other sideof the motor circuit for the motor 560M is extended from its otherterminal by wire 748 to the terminal 725, and a wire 74-9 extends thiscircuit to one of a pair of normally closed contacts of a disablingrelay 750. The normally closed contact of this pair is connected by awire 751 to the terminal 726 which is connected by a Wire 752 to theterminal T-26.

The disabling relay 750 has one terminal of its operating coil connectedto line wire L-Z- while wire 753 extends to the other end of the side ofthe normally closed contact of the switch S-iiS, the common contact ofwhich is connected by a wire 754 to line wire L4. Thus, when the head408 is in its upper position so that the switch 8-405 is actuated, theline circuit for the disabling relay 750 is broken, but when the head408 moves downwardly the switch 8-405 assumes its normally closedposition so that the relay 750 is energized and remains energized'untilthe head 408 returns to its upper position.

- Thus the running circuit for the cycle timer motor 500M isautomatically broken, during rotation of the column 401 and duringpickup and drop operations of the head 408.

cam-oz connections for the cam switches As above pointed out, theautomatic cycle of operation of the present installation is governedprimarily by the timer 500, but the control of the cycle-timer 506 issuperseded during the performance of certainof the functions that areinvolved. The automatic control that is exercised by the cycle-timer 500is attained in certain respects by connecting selectedcam switches ofthis timer in parallel, across corresponding manual control switchesthat have been described hereinabove. Since certain of these functionsare repeated during the machine cycle, but at different times in suchcycle, two or more of the cam switches that operate at difierent timesin the cycle are connected in parallel across certain of the manualcontrol switches as will be described.

Automatic pickup Thus, theswitches 'CL-1, (58-14 and S- are allocatedrespectively to the initiation of the pickup funccan at stations I, IVand III, and it may be pointed out in the presen instance, that inpractice the pickup function in stationIII is not used, and whileconnections to the switch C840 have been shown, has been done merely forillustration and actually these connections are removed in theperformance of the typical cycle that is described. p

As to the switches" CS4, CS-14 and C8 20, the wires 20A are extendedfrom the" common contacts of these switches to the terminal T-20.Similarly, wires 621A are extended from the normally closed contacts ofthe cam switches (IS-1, (IS-14 and CS-20 to the terminal 721 and a wire721A extends from this terminal to the terminal T41. Thus the parallelcircuits across the manual pickup switch PB-6 are provided.

Automatic drop Theinitiationfof the drop function has been allocated inthe present instance to cam switches CS-"S, CS-16 and CS-ZZ that areeach adapted to initiate the drop function at difierent times in thecycle at stations 11, III and IV, it being noted that the seconddropping operation at station II is not used in the present instance,and has been shown merely for illustrative purposes.

Thus the common contacts of the switches CS-B. CS-16 and CS-ZZ areconnected by wire 617A to the terminal 717 from which a wire 717A. isextended to the terminal T-17. three switches are connected by wire 618Ato the terminal 718 from Whicha wire 718Ais, extended to terminal T-18.Thus, all of the cam switches: CS'-3, (IS-16 and CS+2Z are connected inparallel across the manual drop switch PB-S;

Automatic station selection As to the automatic station selection forthe unit 22 under control of the cycle timer 500, a generally similarassociation of. the cam switches with the previously described manuallycontrolled selection circuit is followed with the exception, however,that the selection of station IV is rendered dependent upon the cover103 of the whirler being fully open.

In the automatic cycle that has been described, a single one of the camswitches is allocated to the selection of station I and thus, the camswitch 29 has its common contact connected by a wire 603A to theterminal 703 and a wire 703A is extended from this terminal to a wire603, while the normally closed contact of the cam switch 0-29 isconnected by a wire 610A- to the terminal 710 from which a wire 710A isextended to the wire 610. Thus, the cam switch 08-29 is connected inparallel across the push button switch PB-l, and when this cam switch isclosed the selecting circuits areoperated to close the head 468 to bemoved to station I'.

9am switches (ZS-15 and CS-21 are allocated to the automatic selectionof station II although it may be pointed out that the switch C541 is notused in the cycle or operation that has been described, andis thereforedisconnected in practice. Thus, thecommon terminals of the cam switchesC8 15 and CS-Zi are connected by wires 615A to the normally closedcontact of the other set of normally closed contacts of the disablingrelay 750, the other contact of this set being connected by a wire 615Cto the terminal 715. Such connection through the disabling relay isemployed as a further safety measure to guard against column rotationwhile the head 408 is in a lowered position. The terminal 715 isconnected by a wire 715A to the wire 692 which is of course connected toline wire TF1. This connection through normally closed contacts of thedisabling relay 750 serves to disable the cam switches when the, head408 is out of its upper position. The normally closed contacts ofthe'carn switches CS-15 and (IS-21 are. connected by wires 611A to theterminal 711 from which a wire 711A extends to the wire 611. These camswitches are thus placed in parallel across the manual selecting switchPB-Z and will produce similar operation. I

The norm-ally closed contacts of these- The cam switches CS-4 and CS4?are allocated to the selection of station III, although the cam switchCS-19 is not used in the presently described cycle and is, therefore,disconnected. These switches are connected parallel across the switchPB3, the common contacts thereof being connected to the wire 615A, whilethe normally closed contacts thereof are connected by a wire 612A to theterminal 712 from which a wire 712A extends to the wire 612. Thus, theswitches CS-4 and 08-19 will produce the desired selection of stationHI. As to the selection of station IV, the cam switches CS-2 and CS-13are'employed respectively when the whirler is to be loaded and when itis to be unloaded.

The common contacts of these switches are connected by wires 609A to theterminal 709, and the wire 709A extends from this terminal to the wire609. The normally closed contacts of the cam switch CS-2 and CS-13 areconnected by wires 614A to the terminal 714, and a wire 714A extends tothe wire 614. In this respect, it will be observed that this extends thecircuit through the normally open contact of the switch S-108 so thatthe circuit is completed only when the whirler lid 108 has been openedso as to actuate and thus close the switch 108.

Starting and closing of whirler After a plate has been put in positionon the whirler table and the head 408 has returned to station III, therotative movement of the whirler table is initiated under control of thecam switch CS-S. The common contact of this switch is connected by awire 730A to the wire 730 which extends from line wire L-1, while a wire627A extends from the normally closed contact of this cam switch to theterminal 727. It might be noted that cam switch CS-17 is also allocatedto the same function, but is not used except when the second coating arm115-1 is being employed, and therefore, in the example described herein,the cam switch CS-17 is disconnected. The circuit is extended from theterminal 727 by wire 727A to terminal 827 in a motor starter 1278 thatis associated with the whirler motor 127. The starter is arranged toconnect lines L4 and L-3 to lines TT-l and TT-3 that extend to the motor127, and the starter includes additional contacts 760 that are includedin a holding circuit for the relay as will be described. Circuit isextended from terminal 827 by a wire 761 to one end of the operatingcoil of the starter relay, the other end of this coil being connected toline II. The holding circuit is provided by connecting the relaycontacts 760 to the wire 761 and by connecting the other side of thesecontacts by a wire 763 to one terminal of the switch S-131. The othercontact of this switch is connected by a wire 764 to a terminal 801 inthe starter relay box and. this relay is connected by a wire 765 to linewire L-1. Thus, the holding circuit for the starter relay 1278 will beestablished as soon as the locking piston 131 of the whirler table hasbeen withdrawn, and will be maintained until the locking plunger 131 hasreturned to its locking position at the end of the whirling cycle.

When the whirler motor 127 is energized, the movement of the lid orcover 108 toward its closed position is started, and to accomplish this,line wires TT-1 and T'I2 are also connected to the solenoid valveSV-108.

At the same time that the whirler motor relay 1278 is operated, thespeed control lever 128L is started on its control movement between itszero position and its maximum position. This is done by energizing thesolenoid valve SV-105. Thus, one side or terminal of the valve SV-105 isconnected to terminal 802 which is in turn connected by a wire 768 toline wire L-2, then one terminal of the valve SV-108 is connected toterminal 816 which is connected by a wire 716A to the terminal 716 ofthe timer 500. A Wire 616A connects the terminal 22 A 716 to thenormally closed contact of cam switch (ZS-12,- and the common contact ofthis switch is connected to the wire 730 so as to-be thus connected toline wire L-l. Thus the speed control lever is started toward itsmaximum position,and in the initial portion of this movement, itreleases the switch S-128 so that it may assume its normal opencondition. This is elfective to release air from the lock cylinderAC-131,-the control valve SV-131 of which is normally held open whilethe table is stopped. Thus one terminal of the solenoid valve SV-131 isconnected by a wire 770 to the terminal 802 of the whirler starter relaybox while the other terminal is connected through the terminal 832 bywires 771 and 772 to one contact of the switch S428, the other terminalof which is connected to the terminal 801. Hence when the speed controllever allows the switch S428 to assume its open position, the valveSV-131 is de-energized and the lock plunger 131 is retracted. As thelock plunger 131 is retracted the switch S131 assumes its normal closedposition so that the above described holding circuit is completed forthe starter 1278.

Flushing and coating When the table is thus started, or soon thereafter,the timer 500 initiates the outward swinging movement of the coating armas well as the flow of water to the discharge nozzle of the arm, andalso initiates operation of the coating timer 501. Thus, the cam switchCS-7 initiates the outward swinging movement of the coating arm 115, andthis cam switch is arranged to be closed for a period substantiallylonger than the maximum time required for the coating operation, theinward or return swinging movement of the arm being governed by thetimer 501, as will be described.

It has been pointed out that the coating arms 115 and 115-1 may be usedselectively, although in the present description the operation as to thecoating arm 115 will be described in detail. Thus, two sets of controlsare employed and may be rendered elfective selectively by a switch 775.This switch is connected inside to the line wire L-1 by a wire 776, andin one position it extends circuit to a wire 728 and in another positionto wire 723. The wire 723 is associated with the cam switch controls foruse when the coating arm 115-1 is being used, and these connections willnot be described herein, particularly since they are similar toconnections from the wire 728 that are used when the coating arm 115 isemployed.

Thus the cam switch CS-7 has its common contact connected to the wire728 and its normally closed contact is connected by a wire 605A to oneof a pair of normally open contacts of a control relay 780, the other ofthe contacts of which is connected by a wire 605B to the terminal 705, awire 705A being extended from this terminal to a terminal 805 in thewhirler starter relay box. A wire 805A extends from the terminal 805 toone terminal of the solenoid valve SV-115, the other terminal of thisvalve being connected to terminal 802. Thus when the cam switch CS-7 isclosed, the arm 115 will be moved outwardly and it should be noted thatthe control circuit extendsthrough the control relay 780 so that it maybe broken 'by energizing the relay 780 when the coating arm 115 is to bereturned to its normal outer position. This control is exercised by thecoating solution timer 501.

The coating timer 501 has its operation initiated by the cam switchCS-8, the common terminal of which is connected to the wire 728. Theother or normally closed terminal of this switch is connected by a Wire781 that extends to one terminal of the motor 501M, and to the commoncontacts of control switches 5011 and 50 1-2 that are diagrammaticallyshown as being embodied in this timer. The other terminal of the motor501M is connected by a wire 782 to terminal 702 which constitutes linewire L-2. The closure of the cam switch

